Snapshots
by BadMomma
Summary: Collection of ficlets revolving around the pilot's lives. Introduction gives more details.
1. Introduction & Explanation of Snapshots

Snapshots:  Introduction

Snapshots is intended to be a series of mostly unrelated mini-stories that depict a slice of life for the characters of GW; a snapshot of time.  The "plots" will be about small events that, in someone else's universe, might be considered a plot-bunny; to me they're only ficlets.  Some of them were ideas I thought to flesh out into real fics on their own and others are just extra scenes that fit into the universe of one of my existing fics, as background maybe or an extra scene, but never made the final cut.

Each "chapter" title will be prefaced by an indication of what genre it is and the initials of the fic or series they belong to, if applicable.  This way, if you don't like yaoi (Y) or het (H) or buddy (B) fics you don't have to read/access it to find out what it is.  If the Snapshot is generic enough to fit more than one universe, and/or is technically void of a pairing, it'll say "ANY" before the chapter title.  Some fics will also be partner–nonspecific, in other words, it'll be a POV and you can feel free to read a pairing into whatever you like.  There are some that while technically do not have pairings, could be read that way, or placed into the universe of your choosing.  A list of initials is at the bottom of this note to make it easier.  

These are half-baked thoughts that float through my head, but if you like one please email/review me and let me know.  I'd really appreciate it!

Title Prefaces:

HYJ: The Journal

RSx: Red Skies (series)

YNK: You Just Never Know

AMO: We Almost Missed Out

WIW: And the Wind, It Whispers

DDH: Crush/The Dangers of Dating Heero

ANY: not fic specific

Thanks for reading and please email or review.

BadMomma

Badmomma64@aol.com


	2. B ANY: Mission Parameters

Mission Parameters By: BadMomma  
  
"What are the parameters?"  
  
"What!?!"  
  
"Pa- ra- me- ters. What are the parameters?"  
  
"Heero, this not some damned mission! I thought you quit thinking that way."  
  
"It could be. And I did."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"If you don't know what to do, delineate parameters. Just ~treat~ it like a mission. You do remember what those are don't you?"  
  
"Of course I remember, dingbat, but what the hell does this have to do with mission parameters?"  
  
"Duo. You're at Point A. Your goal is Point B. To get from A to B you have to have a plan."  
  
"Most people would just walk from A to get to B, Heero."  
  
"I do have work to finish tonight. If you're just going to make fun of everything I say you can find somebody else to help you." He's reaching for the disconnect switch.  
  
"NO wait! Wait. I'll listen. I promise I'll be good, no more snide remarks."  
  
"Good."  
  
"But it's a damned dinner, Heero, not a frickin' mission, OK."  
  
"Look, I don't know how to plan dinners, I only know how to plan out missions, security systems and software programs. Maybe you should've called somebody else." That makes him stop and think, he tilts his head, eyebrows scrunching up. "By the way why did you call ME? Why didn't you call Quatre?"  
  
"He's been holed up at a hotel for three days in some contract negotiations."  
  
"Trowa?"  
  
"Emailed, haven't heard back. Might be on the move again."  
  
"Wufei?"  
  
I give him my best 'oh please!' look.  
  
"Right. Um. What about Relena?"  
  
"Heero! I am NOT going to call 'The Queen of All I Survey', pull her out of the conference to end all conferences, just to ask for advise on what to feed my study group."  
  
"Fine. And she's not the queen of anything now-a-days so stop calling her that. She hates it." He's thinking again, I can almost see the little gears working behind his eyes. "What about Hilde? She's a girl, she should know."  
  
"Oh my God! Do NOT let her hear you say that kind of shit, she'd rip you a new one. And anyway, I tried. The guys at the yard said she went on vacation with her boyfriend. Won't be back til next weekend."  
  
"Damn!"  
  
"Yeah, that's what I said. Listen, I really need your help buddy."  
  
"Fine, but the only way I know how."  
  
"Yes, yes! A mission it is." This is sooooo stupid. I get some paper and a pen from my backpack. "Right. First off - target: Dinner for the masses. Second - goal: Easy to cook food. I write that down with a flourish befitting one of Shakespeare's sonnets. "Alright. That about covers it!"  
  
"Duo that is the suckiest mission plan I've ever heard."  
  
"Sorry man, but this ain't blowing up an Oz base. I told you it wouldn't work."  
  
"You just need to get in the right mind set."  
  
He's reaching for something I can't see, either behind or next to the vid screen. The telltale clacking of keys makes me moan in anticipated pain. The laptop! "Oooooh Heeeeeeeroooo noooooo." It'll be a miracle if my neighbors don't complain about the moaning tomorrow morning.  
  
"Shut up Duo. I'll ask the questions and you'll answer them.." He gives me the laser eyes. "Or I can hang up?"  
  
"No! No, ask away." I cross my arms over my chest and lean back in my chair. This could take a while!  
  
"Alright. Target and goal have been determined. Deadline?"  
  
"Tomorrow night."  
  
"No wonder you're so desperate." He laughs that quiet, evil, little laugh of his that only comes out at my expense. I ignore it. "Time?"  
  
When he finally looks at me I give him the 'thank you very much, you're such a comedian' smile before answering. "Six-thirty."  
  
"Expected number of hostiles. oh sorry, um. guests?"  
  
Hostiles! He's too funny. "Um, let's see, me and the guys are 6, there's the Doc - seven, and uh. two, I think, from his other class. So, nine total. Ten tops."  
  
"OK. Location?"  
  
"Here."  
  
"In your apartment!?!"  
  
"That's part of the problem."  
  
"Why. In the world. Did you agree to that?"  
  
"Didn't so much agree, as lose. We drew straws. I lost. Next question, please!"  
  
"OK, um. Environmental limitations?"  
  
"Say what?"  
  
"Limitations, um, any vegetarians, allergies, dietary no-nos?"  
  
"How the hell should I know? I didn't ask them to fill out a questionnaire on their eating habits. Geez Heero! This is SO not working!"  
  
"Yes it is. Environmental limitations: unknown. That means we have to be careful about how we put this together."  
  
"We, huh? You coming over in an apron to wait on us by any chance?"  
  
"Get real!" Oops. He's giving me the laser eyes again. "Window of opportunity?"  
  
"Eh, define that please."  
  
"OK, are you eating right when everybody gets there. or having your meeting- discussion thing and then eating after. or meeting, then eating, then more meeting? Window of opportunity. If the food might sit around for a while then you don't want something that like. can't stay in the oven an extra hour cause it'll burn. You know?"  
  
"Oh, I get it. OK, um, we hadn't really decided that. Could go either way. If people are late, we might just do some work first and then eat later.  
  
"Fine." He's looking over the data we've got, thinking again. "You sure you can't just order pizza?"  
  
"Look Heero, if it was just me and the guys, yeah, but Doc Harris is coming too. We decided to do something a little nicer. I mean, the guy really didn't have to do this for us. We can't just feed him pizza and soda, you know?"  
  
"Alright fine. I can't think of anything else. Do you have class tomorrow?"  
  
"Yup, two to four."  
  
"Work?"  
  
"Eight to twelve."  
  
"Shit!"  
  
"No duh."  
  
"Wait a minute. When were you planning to go shopping?"  
  
"Tonight? After you helped me figure out what I was gonna feed these people?"  
  
"Duo, it's almost ten-thirty, most grocery stores close in half an hour!"  
  
"Not a problem. There's a 24-hour place that just opened up a few miles from here. It's not where I usually go, but it'll do in a pinch. So. Aside from the ever popular, doesn't have to be cooked, pampered or thought about pre-meal salad. Got any ideas yet?"  
  
"I would say make some rice and a stir-fry, cause you could cook the meat separate; but. the veggies'll get soggy if you let them sit for too long."  
  
"Yeah and I can't cook rice to save my life, I always burn it. Nice try though."  
  
He's frowning. Damn, looks like I've stumped my trump card. I'm in deep shit here!  
  
"Hey, what about spaghetti? You remember that weekend we spent at Wufei's place? That Trowa made spaghetti? It was quick and painless. And it keeps really well, I had an extra bowl a couple of hours later while we were watching movies."  
  
"Oh yeah! Great idea. Heero you're a GOD! I knew you could help me, that's a killer plan. All I need is noodles, sauce, and I can get some of that frozen garlic bread. Oh wait, but he made that with meat sauce, what if somebody doesn't eat meat? And what if I screw up the sauce, I've never made it before and you KNOW I'm not the best cook on the planet. Dude, and plain pasta sucks ass."  
  
"Not a problem. You cheat."  
  
"Cheat?"  
  
"Mm-hmm. Trowa told me there's tons of really good bottled stuff, just buy a couple of bottles. You could even buy some of the white one, too, in case somebody doesn't like tomato sauce. He said the good ones are a little more expensive, but it shouldn't be too bad."  
  
"You know. that's actually a really great idea. And I could cook up some mushrooms in case somebody wants to add it to their sauce." Hey this just might work! "Saved my ass again buddy. I owe you one!"  
  
"No problem, glad I could help."  
  
"Thanks man! Really!"  
  
"Don't sweat it, just let me know how it turns out, OK?"  
  
"Yeah sure. Hey, we're still on for Friday night, right?"  
  
"Yeah I'll be there. See you then, Duo."  
  
"Yeah, see ya' Heero. 'Night."  
  
We both disconnect at the same time. You know, I could have saved myself a hell of a lot of stress if I'd thought to call him earlier. I don't know why, for as much as he's organized and smart and resourceful, I just never think of him first when I'm faced with one of these 'normal life' problems.  
  
Matter of fact, I usually only go to him about this kind of stuff as a last resort. Oh well, maybe one day I'll learn. Despite his belief to the contrary, it seems the former Perfect Soldier is really starting to turn into the Perfect Normal Guy. I guess there's hope for us yet.  
  
Not bothering to suppress the goofy grin that comes with that thought and mission parameters in place, I grab my keys and head for the door. I've got the perfect dinner-party mission plan to implement.  
  
Owari 


	3. B AMO: Behavior

Behavior  
  
By: BadMomma  
  
AN: Written with the "We Almost Missed Out" timeline in mind, but not necessarily tied to it.  
  
The battle had raged for well over ten minutes; the combatants were slightly winded. Evil, mischievous grins and wary, sparkling eyes were the only signs that it would not be a duel to the death.  
  
A sofa cushion flew with precision but its intended target dodged, bumping into the coffee table for a second time. The large plastic cup, half full of soda, toppled; joining its friend on the floor and spilling its contents. The last remaining victim on the table had been felled.  
  
A body followed the cushion shortly and forced the other to the ground, legs getting tangled in the innocent area rug. "Give it, damnit!"  
  
"No!" The heated answer, given between gasps for breath.  
  
Rumbled half-laughs, grunts and curses echoed through the slightly disheveled room. Two men, boys if you considered their behavior, struggled on the floor for possession of an object. Thrashing around, crawling to or from each other in crab-like fashion. Struggling for control.  
  
The one on the bottom threw the other off, evading him at half a crawl to reach the end of the sofa. The area rug kept him from completely making it to his feet.  
  
"It's mine. This is my apartment. Give it back!" Came the growled protest of the man disengaging himself from the now toppled coffee table. His foot slipped on the other edge of the rug and took him down again.  
  
"So?" Came the taunting.  
  
Both men fully regained their feet and attempted to regain their breath. They took fighting stances; crouching just short of their full stature, bodies poised for flight, arms held slightly away from their bodies for balance. One would feign movement to the right but the other answered by moving to his left. They appeared to be at an impasse.  
  
"Give it back and I won't have to hurt you."  
  
"You mean you'll TRY to hurt me if I don't give it back?"  
  
They stared each other down from opposite sides of the sofa. Well, they tried to stare each other down, but it was kind of hard with one of them trying not to laugh and the other taunting him by tossing the object in question from one hand to the other.  
  
"This isn't funny, you broke my coffee table." He couldn't keep the grin completely from his voice.  
  
"I didn't fall on it. If it broke it's your own fault." He feigned left but the other answered it instantly and they both returned to center.  
  
"How come this only ever happens in my apartment? You know, because of you, I've had to replace two kitchen chairs, a rug and now my coffee table." He advanced half a step toward the sofa but the other stepped back.  
  
"I'll pay you back, I always do. And if you didn't start these fights, we wouldn't be having them." He stood a little straighter and shoved the object down the back of his pants then rubbed his hands together. "Ready?"  
  
"I'll rip your damned shorts off."  
  
"You'll TRY." He extended an open hand toward his opponent, palm up, fingers extended. Then with a quick, upward flick of his fingers he taunted his attacker. 'Come get me' the motion dictated.  
  
The only answer was a battle cry as his opponent hurdled the couch, launching a frontal attack. They both went down in a tangle of limbs and wrestled on the hardwood floor. It truly looked like a battle to the death, if it weren't for the laughing and the absence of any injuring blows.  
  
Seven minutes, thirty-five seconds later one man stood victorious, though neither was standing yet. The darker haired man had pinned the other to the floor, one arm twisted between them, head locked in the crook of his elbow, his opponent's nose against the floor. A classic wrestling take- down.  
  
"Surrender!"  
  
"No frickin' way!"  
  
"I've got you. Admit defeat."  
  
"Bullshit!" He struggled but could not shake the other loose.  
  
"Admit you lost!" He jostled his captive slightly. "You lost and I control the remote until the others get here."  
  
"This is my house damnit, I control the remote!"  
  
"You don't control shit right now. And I'm not watching another damned cooking show. I'll let you go if you promise not to go near that channel again."  
  
"You cheated. Hair pulling is against the rules."  
  
"We never made any rules. Now swear. No more cooking shows!"  
  
"Hair pulling is always against the rules." He mumbled, then continued more loudly, "Fine. Whatever. Just let me up."  
  
"No, not 'whatever'. You don't lie and you don't break promises. Promise me no more cooking shows and I'll let you go."  
  
"But Heero, there's a really good one coming on."  
  
"NO. MORE. COOKING SHOWS!"  
  
"Fine. Fine! No more cooking shows. TODAY!"  
  
Heero gave him one last jostle before releasing his captive, who's body dropped the infinitesimal distance to the floor. Heaving a breath the dark haired man slumped to the right, falling on his side and rolling immediately onto his back.  
  
"Shit!" He was instantly reminded of why he'd been battling his friend in the first place. He retrieved the offending object from the back of his pants, regarding it only briefly before tossing it towards the sofa.  
  
"Hope it leaves a mark." Duo grumbled before huffing out a breath. "Damnit, Heero, this place is a mess again and the cleaning lady was just here. You've gotta help me clean this up before the guys get here cause I don't want another tongue lashing from Wu-flay about being irresponsible and immature and all that." Still lying flat on his stomach he rolled his shoulder, the one attached to the arm he'd had pinned behind him. "Damn that smarts, you need to be a little more gentle when you're beating the shit out of me, man!"  
  
Heero reached out, as a peace offering, but the other flinched. "Hey? I was just gonna rub it for you."  
  
Duo gave him a wary look and pulled the tail of his braid close to his neck, hugging it protectively. "Fine go ahead."  
  
"You're so touchy!" He reached over again and rubbed at the sore shoulder. Sitting up, he repositioned his patient to get a better angle for the massage. They were quiet as he worked the sore joint and muscles.  
  
"Ooh-ooh, yeah, right there. Mmmm, a little to the left, more left. Keep going. Left. Left. Smidgen more."  
  
"Any more to the left and I'll be on your other should shoulder."  
  
He threw a wide grin at his friend. "Why yes, thank you. Thought you'd never ask."  
  
Heero thwapped him lightly on the back of the head, "Sit up, idiot." Once Duo was sitting, he obediently moved to work the muscles on the other side.  
  
"Damn you're good! You really should consider changing your line of work. You could make some big bucks with those hands of yours."  
  
"Ah yes," the Japanese boy replied wistfully, "that's what all the girls say."  
  
At that Duo had to turn around and give Heero a playful shove. "Oh my God, you are SO full of yourself!" He shoved him again and then scooted away, getting to his feet.  
  
"Don't start something you can't finish." Heero threatened, giving the American a look that fell somewhere between a glare and a grin.  
  
Duo raised both hands in a sign of surrender. "Truce" he muttered around a laugh and extended a hand to help his friend up. "Come on, help me clean up this mess. The guys'll be here in" he looked at the clock "holy shit, like now. Hurry."  
  
They both set about straightening up the room. Duo returned wayward cushions to the sofa and either straightened out or returned various other things to their rightful places. Meanwhile Heero attended to what had previously been on the coffee table. He picked up the spilt cups and the little rug that had been under the table. It was soaked through with soda and when he lifted it he found a nice little puddle underneath. Taking off his shirt he tossed it on the puddle to let it soak up the extra moisture, while he carried the rest of the stuff to the kitchen.  
  
"Heero! I do have old towels and stuff we could've used to clean that. You're not supposed to use your shirt, doofus. No wonder Carmen's always complaining when she washes the clothes you leave here."  
  
Duo assumed a pose mimicking the housekeeper as Heero exited the kitchen; wagging a finger in the air, he assumed her accent too. "Oh Meester Duo, Meester Heero's clo-oos is never dees derty huwen I cleen at hees howse."  
  
A bark of laughter escaped Heero before he could help it, he raised a hand to cover the ear to ear grin that followed. "Oh shit, you sound just like her! How'd you do that?"  
  
The American waved it off and continued cleaning. "I just listen, she's always talking."  
  
"She hardly ever says anything to me when she's there. Just hello, you need more bathroom cleaner, I'm done now, and see you next time."  
  
"Lucky you! She never shuts up when she's here. Don't get me wrong she's really nice, I like her and all, but. 'Oh Meester Duo jew haf to eat mor, jew are too skeeny. Oh Meester Duo, gwee haf no mor pai-per tahuels. Meester Duo, is jure faboreet color blahck? Oh Meester Duo, jew haf so moch derty clo-oos dees hweek.' I swear to God, one of these days I'm gonna slip and answer her, 'oh jes Carmen, mai faboreet color ees blahck, how deed jew guess' or something equally horrifying." He chuckled to himself, shaking his head.  
  
"Please don't. She might get mad and stop cleaning for us. Hey, by the way did you talk to her?"  
  
The American stood from his task and stared at his friend. "Was I just talking to the plants? Oh that's right, I don't have any plants!"  
  
Heero stood from his attempt at repairing the coffee table and met Duo's expectant look. "Sorry. I meant if you talked to her about cleaning for us when we move into the new apartment."  
  
"Oh yeah. I gave her the address and told her when we were moving. She said to tell 'Meester Heero' to make her a nice little map like he always does and for 'heem' to call her as soon as we get the keys." He waggled his eyebrows at his friend, "I think she likes you, Heero. You know, li~ikes you, likes you."  
  
"Oh please. Aside from being married, she's old enough to be our mother."  
  
"No way!"  
  
"Um, yes way. She's got a son that's at least four years older than us. I met him the first time - "  
  
The buzzer on the intercom rang. They were both momentarily paralysed before Duo sprang into action. He picked up several out of place objects on his way to the intercom, as it buzzed repeatedly.  
  
"I'm here, I'm here. What is it Ed?" Heero relieved Duo of his burdens and scampered around the room returning things to their proper places.  
  
"What took you so long, son? I've got other things to do, you know. Just buzzed to let you know, the Chinese guy's on his way up. Gotta go."  
  
And with that the connection was severed. Both boys turned frantically at the announcement. Wufei was on his way up. "Shit! We gotta clean up this mess. OK, uh, you get your shirt and the rug from the kitchen. Go soak 'em in the bathtub or something. And put on some clothes for God's sake. I'll clean up the puddle here and- and-"  
  
"Throw the rest of it in the closet, we'll put it away when he leaves."  
  
The door bell rang and they both jumped a foot in the air. Silently they darted around, Duo tossing whatever was closest to him in Heero's direction. A finger to his lips, he ran across the room and tossed something through the bedroom door, motioning Heero to follow suit. He yelled "Coming!" before running back to the kitchen to retrieve the rug.  
  
Heero finished tossing the random out of place things into the bedroom and shut the door, then returned to grab his shirt and mop up as much soda as he could in the process. Duo appeared at his side before too long, paper towels in hand, pushing the rug into the Japanese boy's hands and shooing him away. 'Bathroom' he mouthed and stood, straightening his clothes and walking calmly to the front door. Once Heero was out of sight he opened the door with a flourish.  
  
To find the Fortune House delivery guy with a huge cardboard box, full of food containers. "You havin' a party today, dude? This's more food than you usually order in a month."  
  
He heaved a sigh of relief. "Come on in Harry. Just put it in the kitchen. I'll get my wallet."  
  
"No sweat, dude."  
  
Duo grabbed his wallet from off his dresser and went to the bathroom door. Knocking only once before opening the door, he stuck his head inside. "Hey, coast is clear, man. It was just the Chinese food guy."  
  
"Oh good, I forgot to grab a shirt." Heero stood from the side of the tub and closed the shower curtain to hide the things that were soaking. "Thank God it wasn't Wufei." They both exited the bathroom.  
  
"Right? I can just hear him, 'Maxwell! You are a bad influence on Yuy. And your behavior leaves much to be desired'." They were both laughing at the image of their Chinese friend as they stepped through the doorway leading back into the living room. And stopped dead in their tracks.  
  
"And what undesirable behavior have you been engaging in today? Maxwell, Yuy." Standing in the doorway was none other than Chang Wufei.  
  
One word rang through the apartment. In stereo.  
  
"Shit!"  
  
Owari. 


	4. B ANY: Food for Thought

Food for Thought

(B ANY)  

By: BadMomma

Setting:  Peacemillion, AC195, before the final battle.

Notes:  Possibly a little bittersweet.

The Chinese youth in the white pants and blue tank top left the maintenance bay at a casual stride.  The mechanics had promised to finish the repairs and upgrades to his Gundam before taking their dinner break.  He estimated that left him another hour to hour and a half before he would be needed again.  He looked forward to trying out the improvements to his suit and preferred to see it done before engaging in battle again.  For now though, he had nothing to do.

There was too much tension in the air to simply bed down, not that he was tired enough to warrant resting.  He'd gotten up from several hours of sleep not too long ago and would likely only meditate later in the cycle to reenergize himself.  He was resigned to wandering the ship.

A short walk later found him at the entrance to the mess hall.  He could hear the lilt of quiet conversation from inside and through the glass panels in the doors he could see a handful of workers sharing an early meal.  In little more than thirty minutes the mess hall would see a throng of activity with the arrival of the first dinner shift.  He gave only brief consideration to the value of taking his meal now, in the relative quiet, before passing through the doors.  

It would not be the best meal he'd ever had but neither would it be the worst.  There were not a lot of options on a ship of this kind; either a simple, but hot, meal cooked from the stores of frozen and dried goods or prepackaged non-perishables that were the typical fare of vending machines.  He opted for the hot meal which today consisted of some kind of baked fish, rice cooked in a broth and a medley of vegetables.  Not impressive, but far better than ration bars.  He picked a table near one of the view-ports, situating himself so he could see anyone who came or went and bent to the task of eating.

Snippets of conversation from the other occupants reached him.  He tried not to let them engage his thoughts but they were hard to ignore.

_'expecting more mobile dolls than manned suits'_

_'been increased activity in the area surrounding MOII'_

_'area of L3-X2489 they found the remains of five suits'_

_'say the Leos and Tauruses are no match for them'_

Perhaps it would be best to meet with the other pilots and discuss a plan of action.  Despite what visions the Zero System had given him he was wary of working with the others.  He knew so little about the other pilots and wasn't entirely sure he could trust them.  

The Winner heir was an almost complete mystery to him, having only dealt with the boy in passing.  Barton had had little to say to him when he'd spent the night at the circus grounds after his fateful meeting with General Kushrenada.  There was a quiet strength and knowledge in his eyes that spoke of years of battle experience;  however, the boy's recent stint as an Oz officer had left a bad taste in his mouth.  Yuy was an enigma if he'd ever met one.  Totally driven, totally committed, and apparently totally certifiable as well.  His penitential quest after killing the OZ peace delegation, his willingness to assist OZ in testing those experimental suits at the Lunar Base and, most recently, his seeming lack of interest in Wufei's involvement in the upcoming conflict left the Chinese boy unsure of the other boy's motives.

And then there was Maxwell.  He'd heard the boy over the comm in battle on more than one occasion, making the outlandish claim that he was death incarnate.  Then later the boy had spent their shared incarceration vacillating between jokes about their captors' questionable heritage, spewing a verbal bravado that was crass and competitive and behaving in a completely undisciplined and often childish manner; yet he'd also meticulously memorized the specifications of his new suit, down to milliliters and millimeters.  That pilot was truly a puzzle.

The object of his puzzling chose that moment to make an entrance, bringing with him a wave of activity unprecedented for someone so slight.  He automatically garnered the attention of the other occupants, from the merriest shiphand to the quietest cook.  Within moments there were jibes and laughter ringing in the small mess.

/Oh well, at least I had a few minutes of relative peace./

"Hey Wufei, how are ya'?  Mind if I sit?"  The query was almost quiet and respectful; Wufei found himself agreeing without thought.

"Thanks man, I really hate to eat alone."

"No problem."

The braided boy began ripping open the many packages of foods he'd gotten from the vending machines and arranging them around his tray.

"Hey um, Quatre was looking for you earlier, have you seen him yet?"  He tossed back an entire package of dry roasted nuts and washed it down with some juice flavored drink.

"No, I've been in the maintenance bay for a few hours."

"Oh.  Well he was looking to see if we could all get together later in one of the rec rooms.  Wants to strategize and stuff, says he's got a few ideas about how we should handle what's coming up.  Make a schedule and conserve resources and all that.  1900 hours he said.  We could head over when we're done here, huh?"

His puzzle proceeded to rip into what appeared to be a sheet-like jelly that had been rolled into a tube of sorts.  He checked his watch to calculate the time.  "I think I will meet you there instead.  I want to check on my suit when I'm done here."

"Mm," another gulp of the pseudo-juice, "you know, Howard's guys are really excellent.  When they say they're done fixing something, they're done fixing something.  You won't find a squeaky joint.  I know you don't them and all, but you can trust 'em to fix your suit _right_," he made quotation marks in the air, "they know what they're doing."  

He was now working his way through a pack of crackers, with a bacon-flavored cheese spread that made them stick together like sandwiches.  Wufei was fascinated by the choice of meal.  The crackers were followed by another swig of pseudo-juice and then another bag of nuts.

"Um, did you… d'you want some?" 

A roll of jelly paper thrust under his nose interrupted his observations. "No, thank you.  I'm fine."  He lowered his chin and eyes and concentrated on his meal.

"You sure?  I don't mind sharing."  The jelly paper was again offered.

"No, thank you anyway.  I'm fine.  I apologize for staring."

"Aah, no problem.  I just figured, well, you know, your dinner looks kind of um… boring?"

"It's not boring."

"It looks nasty."  

"It is quite acceptable, actually."

"That's fish, isn't it?"

"Yes?"

"Nasty." He nodded and crossing his arms on the edge of the table, as if that explained everything.

"I'll admit it is a bit dry and not very well seasoned, but it's not bad I assure you."

"It could taste like ice cream and it'd still be nasty."

"I take it you do not eat fish."

"Nope."

"For personal reasons?"

He nodded sagely.  "It's the eyes."

Wufei looked down at his plate in confusion.  "There are clearly no eyes on this…  You are not a vegetarian, Maxwell, I've seen you eat what passed for meat when we were incarcerated."

"No it's not that.  Just don't like my food to look at me."

"But this has no"

"First time I almost ate fish, on Howard's boat a while back, they put the whole damn thing in front of me.  Head and everything.  One of Howard's guys had just brought them back to the ship.  The eyes were all gross and pussy looking.  I passed. Since then, uhn uhn!"

"Your choice."  He eyed the other boy's tray once again and watched curiously as the corner of a rectangular foil pack was ripped off, the contents immediately sucked from the opening.  "Maxwell, what is that?"

"Hmm?"  He held up a hand as he swallowed a mouthful.  "Yogurt.  Wanna taste?"

"No, at least you're having something nutritional."

"Hey, my stuff's good for me.  It's a well balanced meal.  Look!" The braided boy began sorting the contents of the tray and identifying them by their food groups.  "I've got carbs, dairy, fruits, protein… hmm, ah yes, and meats." He finished by pointing at the wrapper of the cheese crackers with 'Real Bacon Flavor'.

"This" Wufei pointed to his plate, "is a well balanced meal.  Bacon flavored crackers, nuts, and jelly rolls are not well balanced.  Most those fruit products don't even have real fruit juice in them.  But I am not your keeper and you may eat as you please.  I just don't see the point of eating snack foods when there's a perfectly good meal available."

"Whatever." The American waved off the comment and continued to work his way through what was on the tray.

"I did not mean to offend you."

"I'm cool.  No offense taken.  It's just… well let's just say that I'm not into fish."

They were silent for a while, each one working through their meals.  The Chinese boy still could not get over the American's choice of food.  

"Vegetables do not have eyes."

"Huh?"  Duo looked up after stashing his second yogurt foil in the growing pile of empty food wrappers.

"Vegetables.  They do not have eyes.  Do you not like them either?"

"Um."  The American leaned forward and eyed Wufei's plate warily.  "Well, I… I've tried green broccoli before – at a school Heero and I were at – didn't care for it much; guess the white one'd taste about the same."

"It's cauliflower."

"OK, cauliflower.  Does it come in any other colors?"  Wufei shook his head.  "Right.  And um I'm not really sure what that other stuff is."  He raised an eyebrow in question.

Wufei separated what was left of his vegetables by type.  "Zucchini.  Peppers.  Squash."  The American giggled.  "What?"

Duo pointed at the vegetable in question.  "'Squash.  It's not just a vegetable, it's an adventure!'" When his audience didn't seem to get the reference he continued.  "You know, 'Nataku _squash_ed the truck full of armaments under it's heel.'?"

He couldn't help it.  A corner of the Chinese youth's mouth lifted in facsimile of a smirk.  "Very funny.  I take that as a 'no'?"

"Affirmative.  Don't know it.  Don't eat it."

"Hm.  So what vegetables do you eat?"

"Corn, peas, potatoes, carrots, beats – but I didn't like them, and onions. Stuff from cans mostly.  If it doesn't come in a can I probably haven't eaten it."

"Cans?" He thought it odd but the other nodded vigorously. "You have an aversion to fresh produce then? Though I do not imagine these are fresh, they must have come from cans or been frozen." 

"It's not an aversion really, just not used to it, not much fresh stuff where I come from."

"They do not have fresh produce on L2?" His curiosity was increasing with every turn the conversation took.

"No, I imagine they do.  Just not a lot of fresh anything in my old neighborhood."

"And why is that?"

"Poor neighborhood on a poor colony.  Fresh means bucks.  Special packaging means bucks.  Cans?  Cheap and easy. No special transport or storage required.  Put 'em in a box, send 'em to the masses.  They don't sell in the stores, hand 'em to the poor."

"I… I am sorry Maxwell, I did not mean to make light of"

"Don't apologize, Chang, unless you had something to do with it.  It's not your fault and it's not like you could've known."  The American looked up at him in consideration then smiled suddenly.  "Tell you what, let's start again."  He rose from his seat and extended a hand to the Chinese boy.  "Despite sharing accommodations at the Chez Lunar Prison, I don't think we've been properly introduced.  My name's Duo Maxwell, from the L2 Colony Cluster.  Orphaned and on my own for most of what I can remember of my life; but for the last year or so Pilot 02, of the Gundam Deathscythe Hell.  My mottos?  I may run and hide but I never tell a lie.  Left for dead, right for revenge.[1]  My specialties run to death,  destruction, stealth and… acquisitions."  He winked.  "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Surprised by the wealth of information so freely shared Wufei could do nothing for a moment but shake the hand that was offered him.  Then, struck suddenly by the need to reciprocate, he rose slowly and bowed respectfully.  "I am Chang Wufei of the Clan Chang, known also as the Dragon Clan.  Colony L5 by way of birth and heritage.  Sole defender of the honor of my vanquished people.  Pilot 05, of the Gundams Shenlong and Altron.  I am beholden to my Nataku, spirit of the great War God.  Scholar by nature, practitioner of the martial arts by need.  I fight for righteousness, against injustice.  It is an honor to meet you."  He bowed again briefly and was rewarded in kind.  

/Perhaps it is my own fault that I do not know them well.  Zero was right, combining our individual strengths will allow us to do what, alone, we cannot./

Both boys smiled at the exchange before taking their seats again.  The American nodded succinctly and continued smiling, seemingly very pleased with their re-introduction.

Wufei noticed the time and realized that the work on his suit would probably be done by now, but he now was reluctant to leave.

"If you'll excuse me, Maxwell, I have enjoyed your company, but I think I should go check on my Gundam.  I will see you at the meeting room at 1900."  He lowered his head briefly before standing to take his leave.

"Oh hey, I'll walk with ya' if you don't mind."  Duo waived a hand at him asking him to wait and quickly gathered the discarded food wrappers surrounding his tray.  "I wanted to ask Howard for a copy of these specs he showed me this morning.  It's the coolest thing, one of the guys has been working on…"  The American chatted amiably as they disposed of their trays on their way out of the galley.  

The last thing anyone in the mess hall heard was the sound of two boys excitedly discussing spacecraft ergonomics as they rounded the corner into the main hallway.

Owari


	5. B YNK: Shorter

Shorter (B YNK)

By: BadMomma

It's a nice day, a nice afternoon.  Warm, but not hot.  The occasional breeze makes it just bearable to be outside.  But the best part about it is that I don't have to be inside, with _them_.  

Stuck in a damned conference room.  Talking to what Duo calls 'pencil-necked geeks' and 'yes men extraordinaire'.  One of them had the good grace to suggest we adjourn for the remainder of the day; to individually flesh out expectations for the next UESA Conference.  

This leaves me with an afternoon of freedom.  I don't need to sit down and 'flesh out' anything.  I just need to get out for a while.  Something I don't get much chance to do in my line of work.  I fled with a modicum of dignity, employing stealth methods to evade the sycophants that would make my long-haired friend proud.

He's quite a character that one.  The most unique and puzzling of all the ex-pilots in my opinion.  It's not so much that he hides or guards his feelings or his opinions -  you always know just where you stand with him – it's just that… well it's like there's a layer of mystery that surrounds him.  He jokes and giggles his way through a crowd.  Charming men and women, young and old, alike.  Youthful, exuberant and joyful are the most frequently used adjectives.  But in the moments when he's not in the center of the action, when he thinks nobody's watching, he's quiet, pensive, introspective, even.

He's in one of his distinctly pensive moods right now – has been for a few days - and I'd like to get to the bottom of it.  He's gone and done something that none of us would ever have imagined.  Something so shocking that we who already know, those of us that have seen him, can't seem to fathom it.  I can't wait to see the look on Wufei's face, after all the jibes and friendly competition, to see how he takes it.  I think he'll be no more pleased than the rest of us.

All the women in the office have been swooning and crying, bemoaning the loss of such a prize.  Since making this rather drastic change I've heard him offer many and varied reasons for his actions, but none have rung true.  None of them carry enough 'umph' to be the real reason.

I see him, sitting in one of his favorite places, in the shade of the big oak out by the pond.  I wonder if he'll tell me now.  Now that there's no one around but us, two friends, hopefully with nothing to hide.  I really want to understand.  I need to.

He looks up to see me approaching, stilling his idle play.  He's always done that when he thought no one was watching, pull a clump of hair loose from the braid, up over the top of his head, to twist or braid it before his own eyes.  Today his hair is loose and having been discovered, he pushes it back taking the bangs with it.  But they know their place in this world and return to their post, shading his forehead and eyes.

"Hey, you're out kind'a early, no?"

"Mmhm."

"Escaped their clutches without a scratch? Without causing or receiving bodily harm?"  He raises and inquisitive eyebrow.

"Yup.  Not hide nor hair damaged."

"I'm impressed." He grins.

"Well you should be." I say haughtily.

"So what brings you to my haunts?"

I think about that.  I want to ask, but…

"A puzzle." I reply after a few moment's thought.

"I love puzzles!  Something I can help with?"  He pats the ground beside him and sits up a bit, crossing his legs and tucking his bare feet under him.

I look at him for a moment and decide to forge ahead.  "I'd say you were imminently qualified."  I eye him, and it, for a moment and understanding dawns on his face.

"You're gonna ask why I did it?"

"I figure you'll tell me when you're ready."

"But you're curious, right?  You have to be.  Everybody else is."

"Maybe.  But I am not a cat and therefore not in any danger."

"Well, you're probably one of only five people that haven't asked.  And I haven't seen three of the other four."

We sit in silence, picking at the blades of grass and I wonder.  "Who hasn't seen it?"

"Howard, Wufei and Quatre."

"Who hasn't asked?"

He tilts his head in the direction of our constant companion and makes a disgruntled face.

"Really?"  I am surprised.

"Yup.  Hasn't said a peep."  He tries to shrug nonchalantly.  "Must not care."

"You know that's not true!"

"Whatever.  I just figured you two'd be the first to ask. And neither of you did."

"Well maybe we don't want to hear the crap you've been dishing out."

He takes mild offense to that.  "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh let me think about it.  Hmmm.  'It was too high maintenance'.  'It was just so hot all the time, I figured I could do without it'.  'I've grown up and moved on'.  'It kept getting caught in the car door'.  'I kept getting these terrible headaches and the doctors said it was just too heavy'.  And my personal favorite, 'I kept tripping over it on the way to the bathroom at night'."

"All true to some degree!"  He is quick to defend, but then tucks his chin to his chest, I think to hide a grin.  "Kind'a lame, huh?" 

"Very." I reply drolly.  

We sit in silence for a few minutes more, enjoying this rare occasion; no meetings or functions to attend, no visiting dignitaries to pander to, no crises to resolve.  Our companion is lazily enjoying the afternoon sun, lying on the grass not five yards away.

I find myself drawn to touch the ends as they drift on the breeze.  _Like a moth to the flame… _I reach out, not in control of my hand, and tug at the ends.  It's short.  Not overly so, but in comparison, it's damned short!

Moving behind him and drawing it together, I play with it some more.  Loose and dry it barely reaches the middle of his shoulder blades.  I still can't believe he cut it.  Just like that, he showed up after his scheduled day off and it was – for all intents and purposes – gone.  

We sigh, almost in unison and I'm overcome with a strange sense of loss.  It's not like it changes who he is or how I feel about him, it's just… odd.  Sad.

I separate it into it's traditional groupings, murmuring the words he once told me in confidence.  "On the left are the strands of those that went before; my past, my dead.  On the right are the strands of those who will come; my future, my horizon.  In between them are the strands of who I am; orphan, friend, soldier, protector.  Woven together they are me.  Past, present and future; who I was, who I am, who I have yet to become."  I finish off the braid but there is nothing to hold it with and it unravels quickly as if to mock me.  "How could you, Duo?  After all this time.  I thought it meant something to you, something important?"

"It did.  It does.  I just realized I was… well, not exactly going about it the wrong way, but in a way that wasn't necessary.

I 'hm' my acceptance of his words.  They do not quite clarify the reason, but then he owes me no explanation.  He tilts his head to look at me and suddenly turns around, sitting face to face with me.

"Lena, I told you about my friend from the bookstore, right?"  

I nod, he continues.  

"Turns out he's a priest.  He noticed my cross, we got to talking, yada, yada." He waves a hand, dismissing the details.  "Anyhow, I don't know how we got around to it, but I told him about the church and Father Maxwell and Sister Helen.  And about my hair.  We were sitting outside the store while we talked one day and he said some things that just made sense to me."  

He stops to think his next words over, I guess he just wants to explain it to someone else, for the first time, and have it make sense.  

"It's like I was putting my effort into the wrong thing.  Yes the significance of the braid was important, yes the meaning of the three parts is valid, but he explained that what I did with that knowledge, how I lived that belief, was more important than that I keep a symbol of it."

"But the cross is a symbol, too, isn't it?  Is he suggesting you shouldn't wear it either?"

"No, the cross is different.  It was a gift.  Like that pendant Zechs had made for you, from the earring he found when you were rebuilding the old part of the mansion.  That was identified as something that belonged to your mom, so it's like it was passed on from mother to daughter.  A Peacecraft heirloom."  He pulls at the chain until the cross emerges, patting it gently as it comes to rest on his chest.  "This cross is _my_ family heirloom; passed to me from the only mother I've ever known."

I touch the pendant at my throat and nod solemnly, this much makes sense.

"Lena, I am who I am.  Molded by the people who loved and cared for me then, who love and care for me now.  What matters most is that I live my life in honor of their memory, in a way that would make them proud.  A yard - more or less - of hair won't ever change that.  So I let it go."  He pulls the cross up and turns it over in his hand.  "You've seen the inscription on the back, right?"

I nod again, wondering at the significance.  I stare intently at it.

"You know I never thought to look into it, I always just figured it was some nun thing.  And when he saw it, he knew what it meant.  1COR13 is short for the thirteenth chapter of the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians; it's a passage that mainly tries to explain God's love.  But what was really cool was that right in the middle it says: _When I was a child, my speech, feelings and thoughts were all those of a child; now that I am a man, I have no more use for childish ways._  That was my answer, that's what made me decide.  I don't need all that hair to honor them, to remember them.  I do that through who I am and what I do.  Who they made me."

When I look up at his face, it is happy; not his usual buoyant exuberance, but a peaceful happiness.  I now recognize it as what I've seen on his face for a few days.  He hasn't been moody, he's made peace with a part of his past.  I reach forward and hug him tightly.  I felt like it needed doing.

The baritone of Heero's voice startles us both and we separate.  "So why didn't you cut it all off?  Why leave it a little long?"  He crouches by Duo's side and fingers the loose ends of his hair.  

They grin at each other before Duo narrows his eyes.  "Because that wouldn't be me either.  I am who I am, Heero Yuy.  And Duo Maxwell has long hair."

"Good.  That's what I wanted to hear."  He stands and extends a hand out to each of us.  "Come on then, let's get out of here for a little while."

We leave the shade of the oak tree and the secret that had passed between us.

Owari


	6. Y DDH: Vanity

Snapshots: Vanity

By BadMomma

"I wonder, is vanity learned or is it genetic?"

Both Heero and I look up at Wufei's statement and follow his gaze out the window.  At first I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be looking at something since our visiting friend frequently poses rhetorical questions like this; but Heero's reaction makes it obvious that his statement was not rhetorical.  

"It's not vanity."  Heero responds still gazing, then after a moment he turns back to his table top amusement – one of those peg games so popular in diners.  I continue to look out the window but am not sure what they're talking about.  There are several people on either side of the street – some walking, some lingering – but no one appears to be doing anything overtly vain.  

Wufei continues to stare across the street and I decide to concentrate on the storefront he seems to be peering at.  Aside from the window display and a few figures beyond it, I truly cannot see what holds his interest.  I'm on the verge of giving up and returning to my form of amusement – making paper worms from the straw covers – when he has another outburst.

"Oh please!  Tell me _that's _not vanity!"

Heero looks away from his game again and peers out the window.  His gaze narrows slightly and then he shrugs.  "It's not."  He sounds slightly amused.

"Then what would you call it?"

He shrugs a little, but doesn't tear his eyes away.  "Neatness."

Wufei huffs out a disgruntled protest to that answer and elbows me in the ribs then points to Heero.  "He's acting like a love sick puppy."

"I am not."  Heero follows up the answer with a quick look that falls somewhere between 'shut up' and 'screw you'.  He turns his gaze back out the window as a small smile makes an appearance on his face.  

"What is he doing now?"  

They both push up in their seats slightly to get a better view and I finally pinpoint what they're looking at.

"I'm not sure."

Duo Maxwell is currently in his car, which happens to be parked across the street, kneeling in the driver's seat and apparently rummaging for something in the back seat.  He pulls back and sits properly, then looks around nervously.

Heero's smile picks up just a bit.  "Ah, he's going to change his shirt."

We all watch in fascination as he does indeed pull off the shirt he'd been wearing.  We're expecting him to replace it immediately, but before doing so he leans over across the front seat then sits back up; fiddling with something out of our line of sight.  

"I don't see him putting anything on.  Did he lose the shirt?  'No shirt, no service', Yuy."

"I think he might be…  Yeah.  He's cleaning up."

"And he has to do this in his car?  In the middle of the street?  They have bathrooms for that, you know."  Wufei is beside himself.

"He likes to look presentable."  Heero doesn't turn from his observation but offers the Chinese man a shrug and a grin.  

He is answered by a sarcastic smirk.  "He's vain!"

"He is not."  Heero shrugs again.  "I think it's-"

Wufei holds up a finger in warning.  "Don't say 'cute'.  Whatever you were going to say, Yuy, don't let it be 'cute' or I'll bring you up on charges of mental incapacity and Varjeeli here will be my witness."

Another shrug is his only answer.  After a moment of watching Duo, Heero finishes his thought.  "I think it's… nice."

"May the gods help us!  Love has turned you into a simpering woman."

I take mild offence at that statement - only mild because I know he doesn't really mean it – but I slap him on the arm nonetheless.  Heero for his part just flips him the bird over one shoulder without turning away from the window.

I alternate between watching the two of them discuss their friend and watching Duo take care of his business.  I have to admit, it doesn't so much seem like vanity to me, more like a brand of insanity.  

It's taken some time for me to get to know these former pilots – Wufei in the years he's spent traveling between this and his home base and Heero since he joined the Agent Training Division just over a year ago – and I've noticed that they each have their own unusual little quirks.  We all do, I'm sure.  But I guess I just have a hard time reconciling the image who they were - the Gundam pilots, the fearless commandos of the Eve Wars, the relentless child-warriors who reigned victorious over soldiers so much their senior – with the image of these young, mischievous, fallible, _human_ beings.  The friendliness, openness, and compassion that I've come to expect from them seems to contradict the mental image associated with the words _Gundam Pilot_.

I caught pieces of the running commentary while my thoughts wandered,  but they seem to have stopped momentarily.  Wufei's interest now seems to be evenly divided between Duo's personal hygiene regimen, the game Heero abandoned shortly after his lover's arrival and trying to catch the attention of the waitress we dismissed after being served our drinks.  I am keeping track of everything; watching both Duo and the activity on the nearby sidewalk, watching Wufei, watching the other patrons and watching Heero.  Heero, who seems to be riveted to his seat, frozen in his stance.  

His gaze has not strayed once in the minutes that have elapsed since he last made eye contact with Wufei.  Not once.  It's not like I can blame the guy; he has, after all, just returned home early from a business trip that was originally scheduled to last two weeks.  Wufei, who wasn't scheduled to come to our offices until next week, arranged to arrive a few days earlier so they could fly here together.  They had arrived very early this morning; landing at the base's airstrip and proceeding directly to a set of meetings that had been rescheduled to coincide with their joint arrival.  It was by sheer luck, during the _one _break we were allowed all morning, that Heero was able to contact Duo and ask him to join us for lunch.

And just like I can hardly fault Heero for his rapt attention to Duo; I can hardly fault Duo for what has turned into a rather lengthy delay.  I, of course, have not found it as enticing as Heero to watch him scrub down from face to waist with the wet naps that he apparently keeps in his car.  Nor have I been glued to the sight of him re-braiding his long hair, applying cologne, or donning what must be a clean shirt.  But then, I am not in love with this man, nor have I been missing him for over a week.  Were I in his place, I'd certainly want to look my best too.

"You see that, Varjeeli?  That is what's called love-sick.  If Maxwell takes too much longer to get in here, Yuy is going to float away in a puddle of drool.  And don't let him fool you, what's going on out there is vanity.  Pure and simple."

I am about to tell Wufei to knock it off when Heero answers without looking away from Duo.

"You're just jealous, Chang."

At that he squawks, really, there is no other word for it.  "Jealous?!"

Heero just nods, again not bothering to turn.

"And just what exactly am I supposedly jealous of?" 

At this Heero does turn with what can only be described as an impish grin, and answers 'Me!' then breaks into a huge grin.  I swear to you, had I not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it.  I don't think I've ever seen that look on his face.  He almost looks…

"Are you high, Yuy?"

Close enough.  I was thinking more along the lines of drunk.

Heero tilts his chin down slightly and raises a challenging eyebrow.  Wufei takes a deep breath.  I think they're about to launch into another one of their infamous verbal battles when something catches Wufei's attention.

"Oh praise the gods!"  He breathes sarcastically.  "He's done preening."

Duo has finally emerged from the car and is retrieving something from the backseat, pulling what looks like a computer case from the car.  He heads to the back, opens the trunk, and plops the case in.  He then turns and leans his butt against the opening, reaching down to undo his laces.  It seems that changing out of one's work boots is required as well.

"Oh please, Yuy, explain to me how _that_ is not vanity."  Wufei is waving at the scene outside the window.  "Why does he need to change his shoes?  Unless kissing each other's feet is part of your 'welcome home' ritual and he doesn't want you to get dirt on your mouth?"

"Wufei!"  Now that was downright mean.  I smack him on the arm again, just for good measure, but he huffs at me and gives me a disgruntled look before turning to try to catch the waitress' attention again.

At this Heero turns again from the window and stares at the back of Wufei's head.  I catch Heero's eyes and give him a look that I hope conveys my displeasure with Wufei's behavior.  He smiles in return.  "Ignore him, Sioban, he's just jealous that, even if it could, his cat wouldn't miss him enough to make this kind of effort when he gets back home."

I think the battle could be taking a decidedly nasty turn.  They stare hard at each other for a moment.  Rubbing Wufei's nose in the fact that he is single and not currently involved with anyone is a little below the belt.  I'm appalled that Heero would sink to that level, but before I can intercede on Wufei's behalf, he offers a rather sedate and playful reply.  

"That, my friend, is bullshit.  My cat misses me terribly and you know it.  Every time Sally watches her for me she's always complaining about how the cat is so distraught by my absence that it wreaks havoc in her apartment,"

Heero interrupts his explanation, smirking for all he's worth.  "That's because your cat is the devil's spawn, _not_ because it misses you."

"Oh of course!  Right.  What was I thinking?  Then how do you explain that it comes to me immediately when I call it, launches itself at me and tries to bathe me from head to toe upon my return?  Every time and without fail?"

"Because whenever you return from one of your little forays, you always bring her a treat.  She's just looking for it.  _Everyone _knows you spoil that demon animal, including the cat.  If some stranger offered her catnip, she'd leave you in a heart beat."  

Heero's grin is threatening to split his face in half and I can't figure out how we went from discussing Duo's vanity to Wufei's cat.  I'm about to ask when the door to the diner opens and Duo makes his entrance.  Oddly enough, it is not Heero who calls his attention to our location but Wufei.

"Maxwell."

He turns at the sound of his name and offers a wave and a hearty smile, moving at once in our direction.  Wufei stands and offers him a hand in welcome, which Duo takes and shakes briskly.  They exchange nods of greeting.

"Nice to see you again, Chang."

"And you, Maxwell.  You look very…" He gives Duo a thorough once-over, "presentable."  He smirks.

"Uh, thanks?"  Duo gives him an wary look, but wisely does not question him about it before turning to me.  "Hey Sioban!  See you're still hanging out with a disreputable crowd."  He leans across the corner of the table and we brush cheeks in greeting.

I smile back.  "I could say the same about you, Duo."  It is how we usually greet each other when I am with either of his friends.

"And you'd be right."  He grins even wider and raises both hands in surrender.  

When at last he turns to the other member of our party, everything changes.  All mischief and good humor is gone.  His face transforms into something… beatific.

"Hey."

The word slides from his lips like a whisper as he pours himself onto the bench to sit at Heero's side.

"Hey."

Heero's breathy reply is almost inaudible but the look on his face screams contentment.

"Trip was good?"

Heero nods slightly and moves his hand to Duo's thigh.  

"Home is better."

Duo places his hand over Heero's and his smile increases just a notch, there is no playfulness, just quiet happiness.  

"Sure is."

His eyes sparkle as they race to travel the planes of his lover's face.  There are promises and reassurances being exchanged in the looks passing between them; whole conversations without words.  Their bodies move gently in what looks to be the prelude to a kiss; but Duo hesitates, darting a glance at our side of the table.

"Oh for the love of god, just do it.  It's not like we haven't seen it before."

Duo's blushes slightly but his eyes do not stray from his lover's.  Again the silent communication takes place.  In less than a second the question is asked and answered and they finally touch lips.  Briefly, but seemingly enough.  They relax into each other's presence, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand.  The spell is broken.

"Well, now that that's settled, shall we order?  I am nearly starved from waiting for you to finish your beauty regimen, Maxwell."  Wufei picks up his menu and begins to study it intently.  "You know, the French call it _la toilette_ for a reason; mainly because it is done in the bathroom."

Heero purses his lips but it is Duo who replies without even bothering to glance away from the menu he is already perusing.  "Yeah, yeah.  Put a sock in it, Chang."  

I can't keep from turning to stare at Wufei in disbelief over his apparent callousness.  The beauty of that moment, the apparent love that his friends share deserves a little more respect than that and I am about to reprimand him when he locks gazes with me from behind the cover of his menu.  His expression belies his almost harsh words.  He is truly happy for them and it shows.

He leans toward me slightly and quietly tells me.  "They have the rest of the day to be romantic in the privacy of their own home, Varjeeli.  You and I, however, have to return to work within a reasonable amount of time.  And I need to reach a colleague at my office before she leaves for the day.  The sooner we order, the sooner everyone is free to go about their business."  He tilts his head slightly, challenging me to disagree.  I nod once in acquiescence and return to looking over my menu.

It had slipped my mind that agents and staff do not usually work the balance of a return-home travel day.  Heero's presence in this morning's meeting had lulled me into the expectation of our routine; without giving it any thought I had assumed he would be working the whole day.  

Having made my lunch choice, I look up from my menu in hopes of spotting our waitress.  What I spot is something entirely different.

Heero and Duo are once again communicating quietly, only this time they are mouthing silently to each other.

_Missed you bad._

_Missed you, too._

_Wanna be home already, babe._

_Soon, love._

I imagine the man sitting next to me would blow a gasket if he could hear my thoughts and maybe, just maybe, his friends would not appreciate them either.  But really, whether it was what Heero was going to say or not, _I_ think it's cute.  They're cute.  

I wish I had someone I could be cute like that with.

Fini

Happy New Year everyone!

BM_12/29/03


	7. B TJS: Interpretations

Interpretations 

Author: Badmomma

Warnings/Pairings: None. Gen fic.

Timeline: In universe, approximately 1 yr after Mariemaeia coup.

AN: Part of the Snapshots Series

Disclaimer: Belong to me, they do not. Play with them, I do.

The intercom came to life with a chirp. "Mr. Winner?"

"Yes Marlene?"

"Mr. Maxwell is on channel two for you, may I put him through?"

"Yes, thank you."

Audio and video took but a moment to connect once Quatre pressed the button to accept the call. The image of his friend came into sharp focus, his face already turning back to the camera as he nodded at someone off screen.

"Duo." Even he could hear the warmth in his voice at the welcome sight of his friend.

Duo grinned widely, eyes crinkling, and waved. "Hey Q-man! How's it hanging?"

Quatre snickered at the usual greeting, ready with a response today. "A little longer in front than in the back." At Duo's hesitation and slightly curious gaze, he raised a hand to his head and pushed his overgrown bangs up from his face.

"Aaaaah! Very good! I think that one deserves... 6 points."

"Only 6?" He feigned indignation. "You gave me 8 for the monkey comment!"

"Well yes, but that one was very metaphorical, this was much more literal. It's good, but not _as_ good. Keep practicing, grass-ha-pah." He bowed low before the camera, only partly hiding his widening smile.

Quatre chuckled goodheartedly. It was a game between them, to come up with obscure answers to commonly used expressions; extra points were often awarded for creativity and reaction. Which reminded him.

"I think I should get an extra point for your reaction."

"Who says I didn't already give you one?" Duo narrowed his eyes at Quatre, challenging him.

"Your initial assessment was 'very good'. If good automatically rates a 5, very good should at least rate a 6, that means I deserve an extra point for reaction. I stumped you, plain and simple. You might have gotten it eventually, but I had to explain. Therefore, I invoke the stump rule and take another point."

Duo threw his hands up in surrender and chuckled lightly. "Note to self, never to go up against Quatre in the conference room, I'll lose every time."

He reached for something at the side of his phone and Quatre could hear the scratch of pencil on paper.

"Alright, my good man, that brings you to a whopping 52 points. You've still got a ways to go before catching up to me, but you're doing better all the time!" Duo sounded slightly patronizing and if Quatre hadn't know it was all in fun, he might have been insulted.

They both settled back in their chairs, as if on command, which elicited a round of snickering on both their parts. When the humor had settled slightly Quatre gave in to his curiosity.

"I talked to you just last week Duo, is everything OK?"

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine. Just thought you might be in need of my translation services."

"Translation ser- Heero sent an email!?" Even as he was answering his own question, he was opening up his email program to check for messages. Sure enough, there was an email from Heero that had come in during the second of his three meetings that morning.

He opted to open it, but was already turning back to Duo before the screen had populated. "Alright, go ahead." He answered the grin that met him with one of his own.

"OK, Heero says that he's doing great. He's still going through J's old crap and figuring out what to do with it. His lazy ass still hasn't gotten a phone; and he probably won't because he doesn't think he'll be there much longer. Um, what else... oh yeah! He's apparently made contact with some of J's old associates, people he knew or worked with, and they've given him some excellent information, so all's good on that end; I think he might actually have gotten some answers to the questions he had about himself. And uh... oh, he'll probably enroll in school, college I would imagine, within the next few months. In closing, hugs and kisses to everyone, he hopes we're all doing well, and we should call him if we need anything."

Duo was grinning like a loon when Quatre finally turned back to the monitor. He'd been skimming the text of Heero's email as Duo had been giving his interpretation of what had been sent. It had been their experience that their quiet and, as Duo put it, verbally challenged friend sent almost identical emails to the two of them.

"He signed 'Gambatte' and 'Ja ne' Duo, not 'hugs and kisses' and all that other crap."

"Yeah, yeah, but you know as well as I do if he's using Japanese it's because he couldn't find any words in another language that meant the same, just as efficiently. That's just him being frugal."

He had a point, that was a very typical thing for Heero to do. While the quality and length of the emails had improved over the last year, they were still short, concise and almost written in code. To anyone that had never met the pilot of Wing Zero the messages made little sense; to those who knew him, they were cryptic at best.

He looked over the email one more time and turned a skeptical face back at his friend. "I think you exaggerated on the 'he's doing great' part."

"Au contraire, mon frere! Please note the wording of his greeting, he says, and I quote, 'I am well.' That, in Heero-speak, means he's doing great. Remember, you have to multiply by a factor of at least 5. And dieing hurts like hell!"

They both laughed at that. Ever since he'd heard the story from Trowa, Duo had used those same words to emphasize any understatement.

"OK, fair enough, but what about the bit about his going to school. He wrote in mine," he turned back to make sure he got the wording right, "'I anticipate continued education is imminent.' Wouldn't that just mean that he's going to keep trying to find answers for his questions?"

"I don't know." He watched Duo's eyes stray upward and become unfocused, thinking hard about his conclusions. Duo looked back at the monitor when resolution came. "Nope. I think it means he's going to school. See, to Heero what he's doing right now is... think of it as research, he's prepping. He's getting himself ready to move on with his life. That wouldn't be 'education' it would be 'investigation'. So if he says 'education is imminent', he means that he's thinking about going to school. It would make sense to him, I mean, it's not like any of us have any records to show for ourselves."

Quatre pointedly cleared his throat.

"Oh sorry, I forgot. _Some of us _do." He quickly made a face like he'd swallowed something sour, but it settled back to normal as he continued with his reasoning. "Look, he'd want to have something to prove that he was worthy or capable of doing whatever job he decides to go after and a diploma of some sort would do that. He's got enough smarts that he doesn't need to waste time in high school, so he'll probably forge a diploma for that and apply to a university. At least that's what I think." He shrugged.

Relaxing back against his chair, Quatre gave it some thought.

That reasoning did seem to be very Heero-like. It amazed him sometimes that Duo had managed to get such a good handle on Heero's personality and thought processes. During the wars, the two of them had worked together more than any of the others had, but in Quatre's mind it wasn't nearly enough to truly have figured each other out. And Heero had been a tough nut to crack back then, especially at the beginning. They'd apparently also had some contact in the year of quiet that separated the two conflicts; but with Heero's periodic disappearances and Duo's courier work, it couldn't have been enough to warrant such a thorough understanding. And yet Duo had accurately predicted quite a few of Heero's moves over the last year, the most impressive of which was knowing how and when Heero's updates would arrive. He'd predicted Heero would contact them only four times a year, on the same day of the month and only in text format – he'd insisted there would be no live calls. He'd been right, too. Heero's emails came once every three months to the day and he'd never yet done anything but email.

Quatre sighed at the enigma that was Heero Yuy. He wished he better understood what drove his friend and could figure out a way to help him.

"Cheer up, man. At least we know he cares. We've just gotta give him a little more time, Quatre. The boy's had it rough and I got the impression that while his doc didn't treat him badly, per se, he didn't exactly nurture much either. Heero just needs time to come to grips with some things."

"I know! Believe me I completely understand that. I just wish there was something I could do to help. We're his friends, he should know he can rely on us. I just feel like he doesn't trust us to know how to help!"

"Dude, we keep having this conversation. This is Heero we're talking about. To him, leaning on us when he's not sure what he can offer in return – or if what he can offer is 'worthy' – is just plain wrong. It's gotta be like-for-like, Quatre. Until he figures out who he is for himself, he can't figure out who he can be for us. In the mean time, we wait. And consider ourselves lucky that he cares enough to keep in touch."

Huffing a disgruntled breath, because it was an old and well discussed topic between them, he leaned forward propping an elbow on his desk. "You gonna write him back?"

"Don't I always?"

"And copy me?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?" was accompanied by a smirk.

Eyes rolled then became serious. "Think there's any cha-"

Duo huffed loudly. "You know damn well what the answer is, so stop asking!"

"Fine! But I don't like it!"

"Yeah? And? Lobsters don't like butter, either. You don't hear them whining about it!"

"I am _not_ whining!" He pounded his hand on the desk in frustration. "And what the hell do lob"

Duo erupted into laughter. "Ahahahahah! Got you- ooh-ooh ooh-ooh!" He was doing a little victory dance in his seat. "I knew it! I knew it was coming. God, you're like clockwork! I got you bad! Uh-huh, uh-huh! Oh yeah, that's puts me at uh, 98 points. Ha!"

"Don't flatter yourself, it wasn't _that _good." He was trying to sound unimpressed and put out, but his growing smile was interfering.

There was a soft tap at the door before it opened a crack, Marlene ducking her head inside. "Sorry to interrupt." She said quietly. "Your 11:30 just arrived. I took them to the conference room. Do you need me to do anything else?"

"No, thanks, I'm all set." He motioned to the stack of handouts on the credenza. When he looked back at the monitor Duo was pouting sympathetically. He shrugged. "Duty calls."

"Don't it always." Duo shook his head. "Take care man, I'll be in touch."

"You too Duo. And you know you don't have to wait until the rent is due to call."

A quiet understanding passed between them. Duo always checked in with him at the first of the month. "Right." There was a knowing chuckle. "I think the berth fees are due around the fifteenth."

"Hmm, interesting. I think my berth fees are due around the seventh, and then the fuel bill has to be settled on the twenty-first." He stood and straightened his shirt. "Gambatte, Duo, ja ne."

He got a nod in response, "Gambatte, Q-man, ja!"

The connection was dropped.

Fini.


	8. B YNK A Matter of Trust

A Matter of Trust

_Prequel/background to You Just Never Know._

_Gen-fic, no pairings, After-Series, c.AC198._

_Characters/Participants: Only Heero, in the flesh_

Heero closed the door to his suite behind him; dropping his bag, kicking off his shoes and tossing his blazer over the arm of the nearest chair. As he carefully set his travel satchel on the desk, he activated the dormant terminal there.

'Welcome to Polaris, please state your name and secure phrase.'

"Heero Yuy. It's your country you can do what you like." He smirked. Relena always got a kick out of hearing his secure phrases. He wasn't sure if she'd heard this one yet and wondered if she'd even recognize where it came from.

'Identity confirmed. Welcome Heero Yuy. Please hold while I load your permissions.'

As the computer began cycling through the security protocols, he removed the gun from his holster and began unloading the ammunition.

'You now have system access. Voice mode is fully active. Please state your command.'

After checking to make sure the gun didn't need cleaning yet, he moved to the small gun safe in the front closet. "Polaris, status pending messages."

'Checking. Please hold.' Only a few seconds passed before the next announcement. 'Forty two new messages found. Thirty-five text, four video, three voice only. Five messages personal; three video, two text.'

He shook his head briefly in disbelief. Five personal messages? He hadn't been expecting any and he'd only been gone two days.

"Polaris, play personal, video messages. And queue text messages for access from this terminal."

'Loading messages now. Please wait.'

He finished locking the gun safe and returned to the terminal just in time to hear Polaris announce the start of the first message. Sally Po's face appeared on the terminal, a little sweaty but looking very happy. She seemed to be calling from someone's kitchen.

'Heero, hi, it's Sally. Listen, I know you're out of town right now, but I wanted to let you know that I'm finally moving in to my new apartment and I'll be having a house warming party soon. You don't need to bring anything but yourself. OK, and maybe a bottle of wine if you like, but that's completely optional! Anyhow, it's next Friday night, anytime after eight. '

There was a loud thud from somewhere out of sight of the camera and she turned to the sound briefly, smirking as she turned back. 'Oh and Wufei says if you're not here by eight-thirty he's coming up to the estate to drag you back by your hair.' There was another thud and suddenly a slightly disheveled Wufei could be seen in the background of the recording, over Sally's shoulder.

'I said no such thing Yuy and you know that.' He nodded toward the vid phone as if in greeting, then raised his eyebrows and made a face behind her back. To Sally he said, 'I told you he was out of town.' To the vid screen he said 'It would be nice to catch up, though, so come if you can. And if you want to be in the hostess' good graces, bring her flowers. She seems to have more vases than the flower shops have blooms to fill them with.' He nodded one more time and retreated from view.

Sally grinned at the camera mischievously before turning briefly to yell at Wufei, 'Get back to work, young man, I'm not paying you to dilly-dally.'

Wufei's sarcastic remark of 'You're not paying me at all, old woman' could barely be heard in response.

'He's so crabby all the time, don't you think? We really need to find him a nice girlfriend.' She smiled mischievously again. 'Anyhow Heero, I do hope you can make it. I haven't set up my hardware here yet, so I'll send you an email tomorrow from the office with my new contact information. Bye!' With that she waved and disconnected.

'Message ended.' The terminal gave him options for the disposition of the message.

Heero pressed the delete button on the screen with one hand while reaching for his satchel with the other. He might as well enter a notation in his calendar now, lest he forget later.

'Next message.'

Duo's face popped up on the screen.

'Oh hey, uh, how's it going Heero. Hmm.' He checked his watch and stopped to think something over. 'Uh right, guess you're out at some political all-nighter. It is like two in the morning there, isn't it? Damn, thought I would've caught you.'

While Duo scratched his head and stumbled with uncharacteristic uncertainty, mumbling something about his watch stopping, Heero checked the time stamp on the recording. Sure enough, the call had come in at 02:04 local time the night before last; a little more than five hours after they'd left the estate.

'Yeah, well, listen, the reason I'm calling is that I think I might be coming dirtside in a week or so. I'm meeting up with Howard in the Mediterranean somewhere – he said he'd send me his location in a few days – and I thought maybe if you had a little downtime, we could get together after that. So, uh, give me a call, OK?. I'll be at the yard most of the day, like always', he rolled his eyes, 'and then probably home the rest of the time. Or… actually I'll try calling you again tomorrow or something.'

He looked over his shoulder almost nervously, Heero thought, before turning back to the screen with strained smile.

'Right, so, we'll talk, OK? See ya' man.'

When the screen went blank, Heero hesitated from deleting the message. He leaned back to replay it in his mind's eye. He thought about it so long that Polaris had to remind him he needed to select the disposition of this message as well. In the end he decided to keep it. Maybe he, himself, was just tired from the nonstop schedule of the last two days and he was misinterpreting his friend's mannerisms.

'Next message.'

It was Duo again.

'Uh, hey! Hi. Me again. Guess the chance of there being two back-to-back all-night shindigs is kind'a slim, huh. You must be out of town.'

He hesitated, looking down then up again quickly. Heero glanced at the time stamp and noticed the call had come in at two in the morning again.

'Well, guess if you're listening to this one then you've already heard the other one, so you already know I might be on the planet soon. Actually it's confirmed now, really, I'll definitely be dirtside soon. Anyway, I, uh, things are a little weird for me right now, Heero, so don't try to call. I'll be in touch as soon as I can. And don't worry, I'm not in trouble or anything, geez man, it's not anything like that – so don't go worrying yourself or the pretty little princess any. It's just I'll be, uh, out of pocket for a little while. But I'll be in touch soon, OK? And I'll catch you up on everything then. Oh and say hi to the gang for me, will ya? Or as much of the gang as you see. Anyhow, give my love to Lena and, uh, I'll see ya' man!'

This time he needed no prompting with regards to the disposition of the message. He hit the replay button without a second thought. Listening again and watching the message more closely, it became eminently clear that something was wrong with Duo.

His first thought was to call Duo right then, time difference be damned, but then he remembered Duo had said not to call. That he'd be 'out of pocket'. What the hell was that supposed to mean, anyway? Heero knew what the expression meant well enough, but Duo shared an apartment with Hilde. So why would he ask Heero not to call him there? And why would he not be there to be called?

He had half a mind to call Hilde anyway and find out exactly what was going on with Duo. He knew Duo and Hilde had occasionally argued, which often led them not to speak to each other for a few days, but it had never gotten so bad as to provoke Duo to actually leave.

Pushing himself away from the desk, Heero decided to give the situation a little more thought while unpacking his bag and getting ready for bed. It was entirely possible that the reason for this most recent falling out between the roommates was the same as the previous one. The touching.

He couldn't quite grasp how, for someone as close to Duo as Hilde was, she still hadn't learned that the touching was just a fundamental aspect of Duo's personality. It meant nothing more than the most basic sign of affection; that he considered you a trusted friend. Where other people smiled, shook hands, spoke casually and occasionally hugged you in greeting when you gained trusted status; Duo would toss an arm around your shoulder, spontaneously hug you or man-handle you just because. It really meant nothing more than true friendship to him. Hilde, however, didn't seem to understand where that line was drawn.

The last time they'd had a blow out, Duo had told Heero that Hilde had been coming on to him and had complained that he couldn't begin to imagine why. When Heero had asked for details, Duo had given several examples that had all ended with either an innuendo or an unwelcome touch that breeched the boundaries into the vaguely intimate – if not outright sexual. While he had sympathized with his friend's predicament, Heero had had to work very hard not to laugh at is friend's bewilderment. He vividly remembered his own puzzlement over the very same thing when their friendship had still been very new.

But something was nagging at Heero about the two messages. Something that seemed to suggest that there was more wrong than just the usual misunderstanding.

Having slipped on a pair of sleep shorts, Heero returned to the terminal and played both messages again, finally realizing what was off about them. He'd only been to visit Duo once at the apartment on L2, but he was almost positive that they only had the one vid phone in the main room. The phone in the kitchen, and the one in Duo's bedroom, were voice only. Sure enough, when he pulled up the call log it confirmed his suspicions. The messages had not been recorded from the same location. The first had come from Duo's apartment, but the second had come from an unregistered public phone.

Remembering that he also had several other new messages, Heero went through those next in hopes of finding some other communication from Duo. With the exception of the promised email from Sally and one piece of junk mail, everything he found was work related. By the time he was done eliminating the possibility of having missed anything, it was almost one in the morning. He stood up and paced the room, wondering what he should do next. Duo had called him at the same time two days in a row, so part of him wanted to stay up on the odd chance that Duo would call again. But the other part of him felt it would be more logical to go to bed, sleep while he could in preparation for the next day's responsibilities, and take the call only when – and if – it came in. Duty was once again waging battle against his emotions.

Next to Relena and Wufei, both of whom he saw with much greater frequency, Duo was the closest friend he had. They had formed an unusual bond during the wars; similar, but somehow closer, than the bond he had forged with either Quatre or Trowa. It never ceased to amaze him that no matter how long it had been since they'd last spoken or how busy they both were, they always fell into a comfortable groove whenever they caught up with each other.

Despite the late hour, he seriously considered calling Wufei or Relena to see if either of them had heard from Duo and might know what was going on; but he made himself walk away from the terminal again. Duo had always teased him about his impulsive and headstrong nature. Not that he considered himself overly impulsive, but Duo's teasing had always included phrases like 'bull in a China shop' and 'damn the torpedoes'. Those terms spoke more to his single-mindedness once he'd made a decision than they did to not thinking things through clearly. Despite the fact that he didn't go off half cocked, he did often make split second decisions and bull ahead with whatever it had been.

Heero realized that if he allowed himself to follow through on his initial reaction – which was to determine Duo's current location and status – he would essentially be saying that Duo was incapable of determining his own safety and well being. It was not in Heero's nature to stand idly by and he struggled with it. But if he was to be true friend, then he had to trust.

It would demonstrate a serious lack of trust on his part if he ignored Duo's assertion that he would be fine until they spoke again. Duo had clearly said that he was not in any trouble and Heero had to believe that it was the truth. His friend was upset, yes, but not in danger. It didn't mean that he would be any less worried about his friend until they made contact, as he'd come to realize that trust and concern were not mutually exclusive, but he wouldn't overreact either.

After a few more minutes of careful consideration, Heero came up with a course of action that would satisfy all aspects of his own personality. The first thing he did was to send text messages to the two accounts Duo frequently used, stating simply that he'd gotten Duo's messages and was waiting to hear from him. Then he left a voice message on Howard's service asking the old man to pass the same message along; making a notation in his calendar to follow up with Howard again in a few days time. After that he logged off the system but left his personal line in active-receipt mode. With the alerting tone turned to the maximum.

He would trust and he would believe in Duo. Other than that, all he could do was hope. Because that was something that he had learned from and with his friend too. He would hope that when the time came, Duo would trust him to be a true friend and believe in him too.

Fini.


End file.
